NEWS ANALYSIS

Does it matter where you went to school?

Jobseekers can expect too much from alma mater's name or even degree

Published: 05/13/2013 at 1:42 PM

(CBSNEWS) — (MoneyWatch) Every year, Amazon hires hundreds of MBA graduates. Where they come from, they say, doesn’t matter as much as the way they think. According to Jennifer Boden, who runs their university programs, Amazon wants entrepreneurial thinkers who are good at using data to drive decisions and get new products to market fast.

She said that where you went to school didn’t really matter and that experience counted for more. I’m not entirely sure I believe this. The target schools she mentioned – Carnegie Mellon, Wharton, Michigan – are a good deal more famous for their quantitative style than their entrepreneurial flair.

And it’s hard to imagine a true entrepreneur eager to join a company rapidly becoming famous for treating its low level employees like robots.